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Terrence Horn
Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Terrence Horn (Born: January 19, 2358) is a human Starfleet officer, and a senior Intelligence Technical Operations Officer under Field Director K. Jordan Lankin, stationed aboard the [[USS Miranda (NCC-77000)|USS Miranda]] under the command of Captain Elaithin Jii. =Personal Details= From the time he could pick up pretty much anything, Terrence Horn -- Thorn, as he prefers to be called -- has been a tinkerer. The son of a naval mechanic, he and his brothers grew up playing in their father's toolbox and making their own toys out of scraps and spare parts, much to the wonder and amusement of the other children in the Norfolk, Virginia neighborhood in which he lived. Most of what he did as a child was for play, but when Thorn, at age 7, won a regional science competition with a project made the night before from a jar, some tungsten filament, a lump of clay, two forks, an old ion battery, and a collection of fireflies, Pete Horn knew his son had a gift. Thorn participated in an accelerated program in school, and his aptitudes for math, physics, and computer science allowed him to graduate early and accept a scholarship for a dual-track undergraduate and master's program in mechanical and nanotechnology engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at age 16. While his professors encouraged him to stay on for doctoral studies, he wanted out of the confines of academia, and after graduating he worked for a few months at a private computer engineering firm but found the job unsatisfying. Looking for something more stimulating, he applied to Starfleet Academy, was accepted, and graduated four years later as an Operations officer. His first assignment aboard the USS Forrestal provided the stimulation he craved for awhile. Living and working in space, encountering different species on different worlds, and seeing places he'd never seen before were clearly part of a new way of life, and he adapted well to it. But Thorn quickly discovered that being an Ops officer on a starship, while busy, became very routine. After learning all the ins and outs of what made a starship and its systems run, there was little else to learn, and virtually no room for creativity. As much as he could, he tried to make up for that by continuing to design and build his own programs and devices to keep himself occupied, including a tiny mechanical rodent-like companion he built and programmed (more than once) for himself that he calls the CHAD (Creatively Hacked Animal- like Design). His first attempt at an artificial life form, CHAD I spontaneously burst into flames while in Thorn's pocket less than a month after development. CHAD II was mistaken for an invasive species and was neutralized by the Forrestal's Ops center security system. CHAD III unwittingly saved Thorn from harm by taking a phaser hit during an unfortunate turn of events on an away mission. Benefiting from the improvements necessitated by the untimely demises of his predecessors, CHAD IV is Thorn's current pet, and Thorn continues to make enhancements and improvements to him whenever he can. It was one sunny afternoon while on shore leave on Risa that the opportunity of a lifetime would come Thorn's way. As his mind darted back and forth from thoughts of whether being a Starfleet Ops officer was really fulfilling, to what new enhancements he could make to CHAD IV's programming, he received a private communique from a recruiter with Starfleet Intelligence. Thinking one of his friends was playing a joke on him, he surreptitiously modified the communications terminal's audio uptake, mid-conversation, with an increasing amplitude loop so that five minutes later, the recruiter was holding her ears because Thorn's voice had grown so loud. The recruiter ended the conversation due to "technical difficulties", but when she showed up at Thorn's door an hour later in person, he realized it had been for real. To his pleasant surprise however, the stunt only served to further convince the recruiter that the reputation that preceded him was accurate, and that Intel could only benefit by making use of his skills. A few weeks later, he was reassigned to the Starfleet Intelligence and Clandestine Ops school for training. Though still relatively new to Intelligence work, Thorn has taken to it well, and has already contributed significantly to the design and development of several field instrument prototypes. He was promoted upon completion of his intelligence training, and assigned to be a senior Intelligence Technical Operations officer under Field Director Jordan Lankin aboard the USS Miranda. =Personality Profile= Despite being heavily entrenched in computers, physics, designs, and the like, Thorn is nothing like the stereotypical geek. He is very sociable, makes friends, dates, and gets along with almost anyone, enjoying his time with people almost as much as he does tinkering with devices and computers. He finds the combination of the two even more rewarding, and much prefers having his niche within the context of a team. He's good-natured and laid-back, and his greatest joy is creating things that others find useful. In almost any circumstance, he can improvise a solution using only whatever materials he has at hand and his own ingenuity. Thorn tends to speak his mind, but rarely with any intent other than being informative or honest. This has gotten him into a little trouble once or twice, but his co-workers and superiors eventually overlook it once they grow to understand and appreciate him. Though generally a happy person, there are sometimes other emotions that Thorn prefers to keep to himself. He will converse on most any topic, but tends to avoid discussing his mother, who left her husband and four sons unexpectedly when Thorn was only five years old. No one has heard from her since, and deep-down the emotional loss is far greater than the sum of the memories he has of her. =Special Notes= From a young age, Thorn has had a fascination with sleight of hand, and he has spent much time over the years honing his skill in prestidigitation. This ability has served him well on more than a few occasions, particularly during inspections during his academy days, when he could make an out of place sock or transducer "disappear" before catching hell for it. On the Forrestal, he was a favorite to have on away teams, as he could almost always somehow manage to produce a needed item out of nowhere that someone else had seemingly misplaced or forgotten. Thorn has a slight southern lilt to his voice, but most people don't notice it unless they're really listening. In informal situations, Thorn will often sign his name or mark his works or possessions with the ancient letter that shares his nickname: Þ. He has even had some of his clothing and other personal effects monogrammed with the letter. =Education= 2362 - 2373 Norfolk Academy, Norfolk, Virginia, Earth 2373 - 2379 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Earth 2379 - 2383 Starfleet Academy 2383 - 2386 Starfleet Intelligence and Clandestine Operations School =Service Record= 2379 - 2383 Starfleet Academy - Cadet 2383 - 2386 USS Forrestal - Operations Offficer - Ensign 2386 - 2387 Starfleet Intelligence and Clandestine Operations School - Ensign 2387 - Present USS Miranda (NCC-77000), Intelligence Technical Operations Officer, Lt., j.g. Starfleet Decorations Reprimands =Miscellaneous Information= Nickname: Thorn Family *Father: Peter Horn, retired naval mechanic, Norfolk, Virginia, Earth *Mother: Diana Horn, current occupation and whereabouts unknown *Brother: David Horn, Associate Professor of Physics, McGill University, Montreal, Earth – b. 2352.606 *Brother: Marcus Horn, Neurologist, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Earth – b. 2355.1020 *Brother: Justin Horn, Doctoral Candidate in Oceanography, Federation Oceanographic Institute, Sydney, Earth – b. 2359.508 Personal Interests Computer programming, building things, prestidigitation, speed skating, skiing, hiking Linguistic Proficiency Federation Standard, Vulcan, some Romulan =Uniforms= Category:Humans Category:USS Miranda (NCC-77000) Personnel Category:Lieutenants Category:Intelligence Personnel Category:Starfleet Personnel Category:Player Characters